Along an assembly line, adding components to and/or otherwise modifying an advancing, continuous web of material may enable the assembly of various types of articles, such as for example, diapers and other absorbent articles. For example, in some processes, advancing webs of material are combined with other advancing webs of material. In other examples, individual components created from advancing webs of material are combined with advancing webs of material, which in turn, are then combined with other advancing webs of material. In some cases, individual components created from advancing web or webs are combined with other individual components created from other advancing web or webs. Webs of material and component parts used to manufacture diapers may include: backsheets, topsheets, leg cuffs, waist bands, absorbent core components, front and/or back belts or ears, fastening components, and various types of elastic webs and components such as leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, stretch side panels, belts, and waist elastics. Once the desired component parts are assembled, the advancing web(s) and component parts are subjected to a final knife cut to separate the web(s) into discrete diapers or other absorbent articles.
Some diaper pant embodiments are configured with a chassis connected with front and back elastic belts, wherein laterally opposing end regions of the front and back belts are connected with each other at side seams. In some process configurations adapted to assemble such diaper pants, stretched elastic strands are glued between two continuous nonwoven webs to form a continuous elastic laminate. The continuous elastic laminate may be subsequently cut along the machine direction to form two separate continuous elastic laminates, which are adapted to form the front and back elastic belts. Next, discrete chassis may be bonded with the continuous elastic laminates; the chassis may be folded; and the elastic laminates may be bonded to each other and subjected to a final knife cut.
However, in some converting operations, the discrete chassis may be cut from an advancing continuous laminate; subsequently turned 90 degrees; and accelerated or decelerated before being combined with the advancing elastic laminates. Such manufacturing processes require control of the placement and combination of the chassis with the advancing elastic laminates in both machine and cross directions in order to control the relative positions of these components in a desired manner Consequently, it would be beneficial to provide methods and apparatuses that are configured to provide relatively precise registration processes and web handling systems to combine the chassis with the advancing elastic laminates in such a way to maximize the aesthetic appearances of assembled products.